Belarus' national budget to be adjusted based on H1 2016 results

MINSK (BelTA) – The national budget will be adjusted in H2 2016, Belarus' Finance Minister Vladimir Amarin said when speaking in the House of Representatives on 24 June, BelTA has learned.

“Unfortunately, the instability of foreign factors and volatile oil prices have an impact on the budget. We will have to review it bearing in mind the results of H1 2016 as the oil prices do not match the projections. There are some other issues. We have reserved some funds in the expenditure part of the national and local budgets in order to balance out the budget in the light of changing conditions,” the Finance Minister noted.

According to the Minister, measures have been taken to attract additional revenue. “We will be able to balance out the budget. A draft decree to fine-tune the indicators is currently being prepared,” said Vladimir Amarin.

He also drew attention to the fact that borrowings this year are undertaken according to the schedule, including from the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development. The Finance Minister recalled that the first $500 million tranche came in March 2016. “We hope to get the second tranche in July once the status of implementation of the program with the Fund is reviewed. We expect to get another $600 million before the end of the year,” he said.

“The aim is to maximize the revenue without increasing the tax burden on businesses,” Vladimir Amarin noted.